Chair For A Chairlift

ABSTRACT

A chair for chairlifts includes at least one seat part which can pivot about an axis and an elastic element disposed between the seat part and a frame of the chair. An actuating device that is connected to the seat part allows the seat part to pivot downward counter to the force of the elastic element and lock the seat part in the downward position in order to make it easier for chairlift users to get on and off the chair. A cableway system having at least two stations and the chair as well as a method for pivoting at least one seat part of a chair of a chairlift, are also provided.

The present invention relates to a chair for chairlifts, having at least one seat part which is pivotable about a horizontal axis.

The present invention also relates to a method for pivoting at least one seat part of a chair of a chairlift.

In order to be able to transport passengers safely, chairs of chairlifts have a safety bar. A problem with a closed safety bar is that particularly large passengers may have a space problem between the underside of the closed safety bar and the seat part. The problem cannot be remedied by generally increasing the distance between the seat part and the underside of the closed safety bar since too large an intermediate space would considerably increase the risk of smaller people, especially children, falling. Therefore, for larger passengers, individual adaptation, complying with the regulations in force, is desirable.

In EP 1 721 801 A, this takes place by means of elastic elements on the safety bar, which press from above on the thighs of the passengers and yield elastically in the case of large people. Although the risk of even small passengers slipping through can be minimized as a result, it can give rise to an oppressive feeling for some passengers.

Therefore, the invention is based on the object of creating an apparatus of the type mentioned at the beginning, which affords more comfort to large passengers without reducing safety in the process.

This object is achieved in the case of a chair of the type mentioned at the beginning in that an elastic element is arranged between the seat part and a frame of the chair and pushes the seat part upward.

The object is also achieved by a method of the type mentioned at the beginning in that the seat part is pivoted counter to the force of an elastic element.

A particular advantage of the elastic element in the apparatus according to the invention is that the distance between the seat part and the underside of the safety bar is variable, and so, in particular in the case of larger and generally also relatively heavy people, the elastic element is compressed and the space between the safety bar and the seat part thus becomes larger.

In a preferred embodiment, the elastic element is pretensioned in an upper, unloaded position of the seat part. This position is referred to as the starting position. As a result of the pretension, oscillation or rocking of the elastic element is intended to be reduced to a minimum.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the pretension of the elastic element in the starting position is greater than a defined weight force of a passenger. If the force of the elastic element is greater than the weight force of a passenger, the seat part will remain in the starting position on account of the elastic element. This is desired in particular in the case of smaller passengers and children, in order not to increase the clear distance.

By means of an actuating device, the seat part can be pivoted into a lower entry and/or exit position counter to the force of the elastic element. In this case, a seat face of the seat part forms, in the lower entry and/or exit position, an approximately horizontal plane and allows particularly smaller passengers to get on and off more easily.

Within the scope of the invention, provision can also be made for the seat part to be lockable in the entry and/or exit position. Throughout the passage through a station, the seat part can thus be fixed entirely in its comfortable lower entry and/or exit position.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, in order to lock the seat part in the lower position, provision is made for a locking element connected to the seat part to be connected to the actuating device via a control element, wherein, furthermore, the locking element connected to the seat part is lockable in the entry and/or exit position by way of a blocking element.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the blocking element is movable into a locking position and into a releasing position by the control element, wherein the locking position is understood to be the position in which the seat part is locked in its lower entry and/or exit position, and the releasing position is understood to be the position in which the seat part can be pivoted.

In the releasing position of the blocking element, the force of the elastic element will automatically attempt to pivot the seat part with a passenger located thereon into the upper position or starting position and to limit the space between the underside of the safety bar and the seat part to a defined minimum.

Body weight or height and the resultant space requirement between the underside of the closed safety bar and the seat part are generally mutually dependent variables. People with a body weight of, for example, 90 kg generally have either longer legs or bigger thighs than lighter people. In order to adapt the space requirement between the underside of the safety bar and the seat part to the length of the legs or to the thighs of a passenger, the elastic element is dimensioned such that, with a passenger who has a body weight of, for example, less than 80 kg, the seat part is pivoted back completely from the lower entry and/or exit position into the starting position after the seat part has been released. The space between the underside of the closed safety bar and the seat face is thus reduced to a defined minimum and the risk of smaller people slipping through between the safety bar and seat part is reduced.

For a passenger with a body weight of, for example, 95 kg, it is possible to assume that they require more space between the underside of the closed safety bar and the seat part in order to sit comfortably. The elastic element is in this case dimensioned such that the seat part does not pivot back into the starting position after being released. The passenger therefore has more space under the safety bar.

When seat parts of a chair are separately pivotable, a larger and relatively heavy passenger thus has more space between the underside of the closed safety bar and the seat part than a smaller passenger sitting next to them. While ensuring safety for smaller and older passengers and possibly making it easier for them to get on and/or off, the comfort particularly for larger passengers is considerably improved.

Further preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject matter of the remaining dependent claims.

Further features and advantages of the invention can be gathered from the following description of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a chair of a chairlift with a first embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention in a starting position,

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the apparatus from FIG. 1 in an entry and/or exit position, and

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an elastic element 2 which is arranged between a seat part 4, pivotable about an axis 19, and a frame 7 of a chair 1. Furthermore, a pivotably mounted safety bar 8, a back part 18 and a tilting element 6 that is pivotable about a bolt 9 are mounted on or fastened to the frame 7. The tilting element 6 is deflected via an actuating device which has a drive and a Bowden cable 5.

The drive (not illustrated in the drawings) of the actuating device has for example a lever which is arranged on a support bar of the chair 1, as is known in principle for example from EP 1 780 091 A. The type of drive of the actuating device is, however, not limited to a mechanical apparatus, but can also be an electric or other drive.

In FIG. 1, the seat part 4 is shown with the elastic element 2 in an upper, unloaded starting position. In this case, the elastic element 2 already has, in the starting position, a defined pretension. The safety bar 8 is in a closed position. The elastic element 2 is a coil spring in the figures shown, but can also be any other type of spring, for example an annular spring, polymer spring, leaf spring, disk spring, torsion spring or scissors spring, and is referred to below as spring 2. In the position illustrated in FIG. 1, the space between the underside of the closed safety bar 8 and the seat part 4 for passengers is limited to a defined minimum, which is designed for smaller and average passengers.

In FIG. 2, the seat part 4 has been pivoted downward counter to the force of the spring 2 by means of the tilting element 6 and the spring 2 is fully tensioned. The seat part 4 is now in a lower entry and/or exit position. The tilting element 6 is actuated in this case via the drive and the Bowden cable 5 of the actuating device.

If use is made for example of a drive as described in EP 1 780 091 A, the lever of the drive is actuated by means of a control rail in a station of the chairlift. The tilting element 6 is actuated in particular in an entry and/or exit area of the station. Directly before the exit area, the lever is actuated via the control rail and the seat part 4 is pivoted into the lower exit position. Throughout the time spent in the exit area, the lever bears against the control rail. After the exit area has been left, the seat part 4 pivots back up into the starting position at the end of the control rail. Immediately before the entry area, the lever is actuated again via a control rail and the seat part 4 is pivoted downward into the entry position. While passing through the entry area, it is easier for the passengers to sit down on the chair 1 on account of the pivoted position of the seat part 4. After the entry area has been left, the control rail also ends and the seat part 4 can pivot up in the case of small and average people or remains down in the case of heavier people.

In a preferred embodiment, the seat part 4 can be locked in the entry and exit position throughout the passage through the station by way of a dead-center locking mechanism on the lever. Immediately after the chair 1 enters the station, the lever is actuated only once and locked by the dead-center locking mechanism. Only immediately before the station is exited is the lever actuated again via a control rail and the dead-center locking mechanism released. The seat part 4 is then no longer locked and can pivot up.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the tilting element 6 can be dispensed with and the Bowden cable 5 or a linkage of the drive or the drive itself is directly connected to the seat parts 4 and pivots the seat parts 4 into the lower position. In order to keep the seat parts 4 in the lower entry and/or exit position, the seat part can be locked for example via the drive of the actuating device, as described above.

FIG. 3 shows a further-developed embodiment of the invention, in which a control element 14 is connected to the tilting element 6 and is actuated thereby. The control element 14 has an opening 13 with a control slot in which a bolt 12 of a locking element 10 is received, said locking element 10 being firmly connected to the seat part 4. The control element 14 is moved in the direction of the double arrow 21 by the tilting element 6. As a result, the seat part 4 can be pivoted counter to the force of the spring 2 via the locking element 10 connected to the control element 14 via the opening and the bolt 12.

The actuating device can consist of the same components as described above.

In order to pivot the seat part 4 counter to the spring 2 with the embodiment according to the invention in FIG. 3, it is necessary, as described for FIGS. 1 and 2, for a force to be applied to the control element 14 via the Bowden cable 5 and the tilting element 6. The control element 14 moves in this case, with the bolt 12 bearing against the left-hand end of the opening 13, toward the right in the direction of the arrow 21. In this case, the control element 14 moves maximally to such an extent that the spring 2 is tensioned to a maximum and a blocking element 11, loaded in the counterclockwise direction by a spring has latched in place in a recess 16 in the locking element 10 and locks the seat part 4 in the lower entry and/or exit position, as is illustrated in FIG. 3.

In addition to the opening 13, the control element 14 has a defined control cam 15 against which the blocking element 11 bears under spring force and is guided. By means of the control cam 15, the blocking element 11 located in the locking position is deflected out of the recess 16 in the locking element 10 and thus the seat part 4 is released. To this end, the control element 14 has to be moved to the left in the direction of the arrow 21 via the Bowden cable 5 and the tilting element. The defined control cam 15 is in this case formed such that the blocking element 11 bearing against the control element 14 is moved out of the recess 16. The bolt 12 is unloaded in this case and is located between the two ends of the opening 13 or the control slot thereof, such that the seat part 4 can move up by way of the force of the spring 2.

In a further development of the embodiment in FIG. 3, upon continuation of the movement of the control element 14 toward the left in the direction of the arrow 21, the seat part 4 can be pivoted right up against the back part 18. This embodiment according to the invention thus allows the seat part 4 to pivot from the lower entry and/or exit position into the starting position and, if necessary, further into an uppermost position in which the seat part 4 bears against the back part 18 or has been pivoted up at least into the vicinity of the back part 18. In order to lock the seat part 4 in the uppermost position, a further recess (not illustrated), in which the blocking element 11 latches, is located on the locking element 10. In order to unlock the seat part 4 from the locked uppermost position, the blocking element 11 is, as described above, deflected out of the recess by means of the control element 14. To this end, the control element 14 has, in this embodiment, an extension of the control cam 15 in order to deflect the blocking element 11 out of the lock.

In all embodiments of FIG. 3, the opening 13 has to be at least long enough for the seat part 4 to be able to be pivoted from the starting position into the lower entry and/or exit position when a heavy person sits down on the seat, plus the diameter of the bolt 12.

In the embodiment in FIG. 3, upon entering the station, the lever (not illustrated) of the drive has to be deflected only once by the control rail to such an extent that the seat part 4 is pivoted right down with the locking element 10 and is locked by the blocking element 11. Shortly before the station is exited, the lever is then actuated again via a control rail and pivoted out of the recess 16 to such an extent that the blocking element 11 is deflected by means of the control element 14 to such an extent that the seat part 4 is released again.

The use of a blocking element 11 to lock the seat part 4 in the entry and/or exit position is not absolutely necessary in the embodiment in FIG. 3, either. Alternatively, some other, electric, pneumatic, hydraulic or mechanical apparatus can also be used to lock the seat part 4.

A mechanical reversal between the locking element 10 and the control element 14 is of course possible inasmuch as the bolt 12, which is fastened to the locking element 10, is then located on the control element 14 and engages in an opening in the locking element 10. 

1-29. (canceled)
 30. A chair for chairlifts, the chair comprising: a chair frame; at least one seat part being pivotable about a horizontal axis into an upper starting position and a lower entry or exit position; and an elastic element disposed between said seat part and said chair frame, said elastic element pushing said seat part upward into said starting position.
 31. The chair according to claim 30, wherein said elastic element is a spring.
 32. The chair according to claim 31, wherein said spring is a coil spring, an annular spring, a polymer spring, a leaf spring or a disk spring.
 33. The chair according to claim 30, which further comprises an actuating device for pivoting said seat part into said lower entry or exit position counter to a force of said elastic element.
 34. The chair according to claim 30, wherein said elastic element is pretensioned in said upper starting position of said seat part.
 35. The chair according to claim 34, wherein said pretension of said elastic element in said upper starting position is greater than a defined weight force of a passenger.
 36. The chair according to claim 33, wherein said seat part is configured to be locked in said lower entry or exit position.
 37. The chair according to claim 36, which further comprises a back part, said seat part being pivotable into an uppermost position in which said seat part bears against said back part.
 38. The chair according to claim 37, wherein said seat part is pivotable into said uppermost position by said actuating device.
 39. The chair according to claim 33, which further comprises a locking element connected to said seat part, and a control element connecting said locking element to said actuating device.
 40. The chair according to claim 39, which further comprises a blocking element for locking said locking element connected to said seat part in said lower entry or exit position.
 41. The chair according to claim 37, wherein said seat part is configured to be locked in said uppermost position.
 42. The chair according to claim 40, wherein said blocking element is movable into a locking position and into a releasing position by said control element.
 43. The chair according to claim 40, wherein said control element has a control cam against which said blocking element bears.
 44. The chair according to claim 43, wherein said blocking element bears against said control cam under spring force.
 45. The chair according to claim 39, wherein said control element is operatively connected to said seat part only in one direction of movement.
 46. The chair according to claim 39, which further comprises a bolt connected to said seat part, said bolt engaging in an opening formed in said control element.
 47. The chair according to claim 42, wherein said locking element has a bolt connected to said seat part, said bolt engages in an opening formed in said control element, and said bolt bears against and is guided by a control slot of said opening in said releasing position of said blocking element.
 48. The chair according to claim 32, wherein said actuating device has a drive.
 49. The chair according to claim 48, wherein said drive is a mechanical or electric drive.
 50. The chair according to claim 49, wherein said mechanical drive has at least one of a Bowden cable or a linkage.
 51. The chair according to claim 39, wherein said actuating device includes a drive and said control element.
 52. A cableway system, comprising: at least two stations; and chairs according to claim 30 being interconnected by said cable and configured to travel between said stations.
 53. A method for pivoting at least one seat part of a chair of a chairlift, the method comprising the following steps: pivoting the seat part about a horizontal axis into an upper starting position and a lower entry or exit position; pivoting the seat part counter to a force of an elastic element disposed between the seat part and a frame of the chair; and using the elastic element to push the seat part upward into the starting position.
 54. The method according to claim 53, which further comprises using an actuating device connected to the seat part to pivot the seat part into the entry or exit position counter to the force of the elastic element.
 55. The method according to claim 54, which further comprises using the actuating device to lock the seat part pivoted into the entry or exit position.
 56. The method according to claim 53, which further comprises pivoting the seat part into an uppermost position in which the seat part bears against a back part.
 57. The method according to claim 56, which further comprises using the actuating device to pivot the seat part into the uppermost position.
 58. The method according to claim 54, which further comprises using a drive connected to the actuating device to move a control element.
 59. The method according to claim 58, which further comprises using the control element to pivot the seat part into the entry or exit position counter to the force of the elastic element, and using a blocking element to lock the seat part in the entry or exit position.
 60. The method according to claim 59, which further comprises using the control element to pivot the blocking element from a locking position into a releasing position. 